Autumn Stars

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It was that time of year again. The season series. This time, the Autumn Cup. The stable had decent luck in these races so far this year, and they would be trying once more to shine. Matthias stared at the list on the wall - there was a lot of work to be done.

Grade Five Turf	No Wonder & Mizadori
Grade Five Dirt	Paradise Island
Grade Four Turf	Flawed Princess & One With Gold
Grade Four Dirt	Make A Dash
Grade Three Turf	NO ONE
Grade Three Dirt	Afterglow & Dark Charmer
Grade Two Turf	NO ONE
Grade Two Dirt	NO ONE
Grade One Turf	NO ONE
Grade One Dirt	Moondance

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No Wonder & Mizadori

The race was looking tough, the field highly competitive. There were eight gates, and each stable wanted their horses to shine. It would be a battle for supremacy, and it was destined to be hot. Among the eight runners, Silver Stride Stables had two horses - the three year old colt of Merry Bay King, No Wonder, and the little known two year old filly, Mizadori. There was no doubt that the field would be challenging for them, and so this work would be key to any chance they had at success.

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Paradise Island & Make A Dash

Sonja had been doing really well this year. She had three wins, including two major races, had placed in two major races and shown in five races including yet another major race. In other words, she was quite well known as a two year old and she had her eyes on the big money. So did her jock, Jacob. The field for the grade five dirt, where she would be running, consisted of nine gates including Instant Success who had beaten her in the Summer Cup.

Make A Dash was also an impressive filly, despite the fact she had only raced once so far this year. She was four years old, and in good shape having shown in her first race of the year. For the filly, there was only one other contestant in the field - another horse who had not been seen on the track for a while. The Akita Rose colt, Knight Rosseau - another four year old. It would be a real show down, and the team had high hopes that the filly would be able to show herself as a star.

Due to the fact that the two horses were racing in races where no other Silver Stride Stables horses were entered, Matthias had decided to run them together. It would be a good test for Sonja, who had ran strongly so far this year, as well as providing competition for the older filly. He was quietly confident that the workout would have some sparks and was very much looking forward to seeing the pair battling it out.

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Flawed Princess & One With Gold

The two four year old fillies were grade four, and they were battling for recognition. The bay beauty, Flawed Princess, finally seemed to be living up to her amazing bloodlines. She had two wins this year, along with three places and a third. Of her two wins, one had been in a major race. One With Gold also seemed to be picking up the slack, having finally got a good result this year, and it was hoped that they would be able to coax her out of her bad streak. She had some amazing siblings, and some amazing parents, and it would be a real shame to see her go to waste.

The field was hot, with eight entrants in all, and the competition would be tough. In order to stand a chance, the pair needed a workout. And a good one. But Matthias was sure that the jocks knew what they were doing and that they would be doing their best to get their respective rides ready for race day. Certainly, it would be exciting to see how they performed.

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Afterglow & Dark Charmer

There was no doubting the competitive nature of the two year olds. No doubting it at all. They had been rivals since they had both arrived at the stable, and they had both rose to the respectable rank of grade three. Stormi, the filly, had shown her talent in the Breeder's Cup the previous year, as well as the Acorn Stakes earlier this season - the first leg of the triple crown. Dark's wins were not so easy to brag about, but they were numerous enough. Six wins this year, and he was on the brink of making grade two.

Matthias had high hopes for the pair, despite the tough five-horse field, and felt that with a good workout beneath them he wasn't asking too much with his hopes that they would both finish in the top three. If Dark won, it would be a glorious ascension to Grade Two, and yet another step closer to their goal of Grade One. Of course, these workouts were always fun as not only had the horses marked each other as rivals, but so had the jocks.

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Moondance

She was a star. Nobody could deny that. The bay mare had risen from Grade Four at the beginning of her four year old season to Grade One in her five year old season, taking a number of big races on the way. She was a fierce competitor, and a real force on the track. Especially if she put her mind to it. Mona had proven that when she had taken the Breeder's Cup Classic, and she continued to prove that with strong performances. She wasn't, perhaps, the best. But she was strong, and she was more than capable of beating the best at times.

The bond the mare had with her jockey, Alexia, was admirable. The pair seemed to be on the same wavelength. When they rode together they became one being, rather than two. Alexia was perhaps more focussed than Mona, but that only served to make Mona more focussed also. To them, the track was their show ground and they were there to put on quite the show.